Hello colleagues!

It is with such pleasure I write to you at the end of a remarkable year. At FP2030, 2023 was uniquely impactful, marking the final realization of the FP2030 Global Support Network, now with fully staffed hubs in five countries, with five host organizations. To mark the occasion, let's look back at the five biggest successes our partnership saw in 2023 - and stay tuned to in January to hear five ways we plan to change the world in 2024.

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FP2030 has five new managing directors at the helm

In addition to myself as FP2030's Executive Director, the global support network is now steered by five regional managing directors, each overseeing their own hub. I'm looking forward to continuing our work together!

• Sumita Banjaree, Managing Director, Asia and Pacific: Learn more about the Asia and Pacific Hub, and about Sumita.

• Dr. Sheila Nyawira Macharia, Managing Director, East and Southern Africa: Learn about the East and Southern Africa Hub, and about Sheila.

• Maria Paula Martinez, Managing Director, Latin America and the Caribbean: Learn about the Latin America and Caribbean Hub, and about Maria.

• Dr. Martin Migombano Haliza, Managing Director, North, West, and Central Africa: Learn about the North, West, and Central Africa Hub, and about Dr. Martin.

• Monica Kerrigan, Managing Director, North America and Europe: Learn about the North America and Europe Hub and about Monica.

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We've seen a flood of new country commitments

I'm pleased to share FP2030 now has 38 finalized country commitments, with many of those commitments being finalized just this year. We're especially excited to see commitments from countries that were not eligible to make an FP2020 commitment, and from organizations that are relatively new to the family planning space. The brand new FP2030 Partnership Report showcases stories from many of these new commitment makers, and the value of rights-based family planning for communities and countries.

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We expanded the tent, welcoming new and non-traditional partners

We know family planning is a uniquely intersectional issue, so the movement for family planning has to match. That's why we're proud to welcome new commitments from organizations working on climate change, gender equality, disability advocacy, and more. We were thrilled to host a first-of-its-kind meeting for faith-based family planning advocates this year. We also made major in roads to building partnerships in the maternal health community by hosting an event at IMNHC, gender equality groups at CSW, sustainability groups at COP28, and so much more. We're glad to see family planning where it belongs: at the center of the sustainable development agenda.

Midwives play a key role in family planning; they deliver more than babies. The fact that competent midwives can provide 90% of sexual and reproductive health care services, including family planning and contraceptives, shows their potential, but we know that they make up only 10% of the global health workforce. We need to optimize their scope of practice and work to reduce the global shortage of midwives.

FARIDAH LUYIGA MWANJE
Advocacy Lead at International Confederation of Midwives (ICM)
Read more from ICM

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We've charted a new way forward

In the midst of this busy year of expansion and connection, we took time to set down our priorities and map out how our global partnership will act to catalyze progress for family planning, while shifting power to national and regional leaders. In January, we'll release the capstone to much of this work: the FP2030 global strategy. It marks the completion of a year's worth of strategy work and builds on the foundation set by our recently released gender strategy, and our soon to be released youth strategy, among other key documents.

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We're doubling down on data

2023 saw a new energy to better understand the stories data tell us. How can we advance measurement in key areas of family planning – such as empowerment, agency, and autonomy, or individual-level intentions for contraceptive use. How can we improve measurement of stockouts and postpartum family planning? How do we improve accessibility of family planning data for all FP2030 partners – youth advocates, faith leaders, focal points, etc. These questions were discussed at the most recent Performance, Monitoring, and Evidence Working Group meeting in September, and we hope to tackle these issues and more in 2024.

Recap: Performance, Monitoring and Evidence Working Group Meeting

FP2030’s Performance Monitoring and Evidence (PME) Working Group is a platform for collaboration and discussion that brings together the foremost leaders, thinkers, and practitioners in family planning measurement. The group meets bi-annually to discuss the FP2030 measurement framework indicators, ensure alignment across the family planning measurement community, examine measurement challenges, and discuss new and exciting measurement advancements. The group convened September 6 to 8 in Nairobi, Kenya, and focused on increasing the use of data by connecting country-level data collection and dissemination to global measurement conversations. Read more.

Apply to Join the PME Working Group

The PME WG is a platform for collaboration and discussion that brings together the foremost leaders, thinkers, and practitioners in family planning measurement. It plays a critical role in the success of FP2030 - a global partnership of governments, civil society, multilateral organizations, donors, the private sector and research community, working together to advance the family planning movement and to promote evidence-based family planning programs. The application will close on Friday, January 12, 2024, at 11:59pm ET. Learn more.

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We are proud of all we accomplished in 2023, and look forward to what we can do together in 2024. We must continue on our mission to build a world where everyone, everywhere can decide whether or when they want to have a child. Onward!

Sincerely,

Dr. Samukeliso Dube
FP2030 Executive Director